Semiconductor substrate, semiconductor device, and manufacturing methods for them

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a semiconductor substrate, which comprises a singlecrystalline Si substrate which includes an active layer having a channel region, a source region, and a drain region, the singlecrystalline Si substrate including at least a part of a device structure not containing a well-structure or a channel stop region; a gate insulating film formed on the singlecrystalline Si substrate; a gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film; a LOCOS oxide film whose thickness is more than a thickness of the gate insulating film, the LOCOS oxide film being formed on the singlecrystalline Si substrate by surrounding the active layer; and an insulating film formed over the gate electrode and the LOCOS oxide film. On this account, on fabricating the semiconductor device having a high-performance integration system by forming the non-singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element and the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element on the large insulating substrate, the process for making the singlecrystalline Si is simplified. Further, the foregoing arrangement provides a semiconductor substrate and a fabrication method thereof, which ensures device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element without highly-accurate photolithography, when the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element is transferred onto the large insulating substrate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.11/086,680, filed Mar. 23, 2005, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No. 2004/93694 filed in Japan on Mar. 26,2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate and asemiconductor device used for an active matrix liquid crystal displaydevice that is driven by TFTs (Thin Film transistor), such as ahigh-functional liquid crystal display device, an OLED (Organic LightEmitting Diode: Organic EL) display device or the like, in which theperipheral circuits, the control circuit, the MPU (Micro ProcessingUnit), and/or the image processing circuit are all integrated into asingle substrate. The present invention also provides fabrication methodfor the semiconductor substrate/device.

The present invention particularly relates to a system-on-paneltechnology that offers great improvement of circuit performance with theuse of singlecrystalline thin film device, the fabrication methodthereof, a device structure for making the semiconductor device usingthe technology, and a fabrication method for realizing coexistence of asinglecrystalline device and a non-singlecrystalline device, apolycrystalline Si in particular.

Further, the present invention enables formation of two types ofsemiconductor device with different characteristics, allowing efficientuse of respective benefits of those devices, thereby the resultingproduct is applicable not only to a display device but also to othervarious purposes. The present invention is particularly applicable to asemiconductor substrate and a semiconductor device used for an activematrix liquid crystal display device driven by TFTs (Thin Filmtransistor), such as a high-functional liquid crystal display device oran OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode: Organic EL) display device, inwhich the peripheral circuits, the control circuit, or the MPU (MicroProcessing Unit), and/or the image processing circuit are all integratedinto a single substrate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A display device driven by so-called an active matrix manner has comeinto practical use, and the production amount is increasing. To carryout the active matrix driving, a liquid crystal display panel or anorganic EL panel is driven with a Thin Film Transistor (hereinafterreferred to as a TFT), which is made of an amorphous Si (hereinafterreferred to as an a-Si) or a polycrystalline Si (hereinafter referred toas a Poly-Si), and is formed on the glass substrate as a switchingelement of the pixel.

Particularly, with the use of Poly-Si which has high carrier mobilityand allows high-speed operation, recent technologies have succeeded tointegrate even the peripheral drivers etc. onto a glass substrate. Sucha structure has been manufactured as a product.

However, in such a display device, like a liquid crystal display deviceor an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode: organic EL) using a largeglass substrate, there is some problems in using a driver IC including atransistor made of a non-singlecrystalline Si, particularly a poly-Si,because of the variation in characteristics due to the particularcrystal grain boundaries of poly-Si and poor quality of gate insulatingfilm, thereby disabling the transistor to be adopted for integration ofa complex system. In this view, and also considering display quality(uniformity), a device with higher performance and less characteristicvariation is required.

Particularly, when a highly-integrated semiconductor device is directlymounted to a display substrate, or on systematization thereof, there aredifficulties to ensure high-speed performance and high integrationdensity because of insufficiencies in driving speed, micro fabrication,and device performance (mobility, control of the threshold, sharpness oftransmission characteristic). The foregoing structure is thereforeinsufficient in device performance and integration density to realize adesired system integration in a driving system used for an imageprocessor or a timing controller, which requires a superior-performance.

Accordingly, there is a serious difficulty in fabrication of pixel TFTsand a high-performance/high-density driver for driving the pixel TFTsdirectly onto a large display substrate, of a glass or the like.

To overcome this problem, there is a technology of mounting (assembling)a singlecrystalline Si driver LSI (Large Scale Integrated circuit) usinga COG (Chip On Glass), in which an LSI, formed from a singlecrystallineSi, is assembled onto a display substrate through, for example,flip-chip bonding with an anisotropic conductive film etc.

Since a general LSI includes MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistorsformed from bulk singlecrystalline Si, the individual transistor needsto be driven separately to ensure adequate operation. Therefore, toseparate the transistors into individual pieces (device isolation), orto prevent latch-up by a parasitic bipolar transistor, ion implantation,such as channel stop implantation section 101 or multiple well 102, isperformed as shown in FIG. 13. However, the trend of miniaturization oftransistor arises a new problem regarding the area for device isolation.Thus, to reduce the area for device isolation, retrograde well(reverse-impurity concentration gradient-well) structure or the like hasbeen introduced; however, this structure requires ion implantation manytimes and makes the process complicated, thus causing a cost rise and adecrease in yield. Further, requirement of processes for forming bumpsetc. increases time for fabrication, thereby decreasing the yield.

Further, in manufacturing a liquid crystal display device or an OLEDdisplay device, there are some restrictions, for example, the driver ICneeds to be assembled onto a completed panel. This arises variousproblems, such as less-flexible and complicated manufacturing, lowefficiency in distribution and manufacturing, and a cost rise whichcauses a decrease in yield.

This problem can be solved by device transfer. In the device transfer, adevice made of a singlecrystalline Si is formed on a bulk Si substrate,and is bonded to a glass substrate to create a display panel, and theinsulator is then separated from the device layer through some kind ofexfoliation. Note that, this structure in which a device of asinglecrystalline Si is formed on an insulator is called a SOI (SiliconOn Insulator).

A possible method of performing the device transfer is removing an oxidefilm under the singlecrystalline Si from the SOI structure by etching soas to create a thin film device (Kopin Co. Ltd.) This method aredescribed in detail, for example in Japanese Laid-Open PatentApplication Tokuhyohei 07-503557 (published on Apr. 13, 1995), and thefollowing Documents 1 and 2.

Document 1: J. P. Salerno “Single Crystal Silicon AMLCDs”, ConferenceRecord of the 1994 International Display Research Conference (IDRC) p.39-44 (1994) Document 2: Q.-Y. Tong & U. Gesele, SEMICONDUCTOR WAFERBONDING: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY_, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1999)

Tokuhyohei 07-503557 discloses a method of manufacturing a display panelfor an active matrix-type liquid crystal display device, using asemiconductor device on which a singlecrystalline Si thin filmtransistor is transferred, the transfer is formed on a glass substratein advance with an adhesive.

Further, other prior arts of the present invention can be found inJapanese Laid-Open Patent Application Tokukaihei 10-125880 (published onMay 15, 1998), and the following Documents 3 and 4.

Document 3 K. Warner, et. al., 2002 IEEE International SOI Conference:October, pp. 123-125 (2002) Document 4 L. P. Allen, et. al., 2002 IEEEInternational SOI Conference: October, pp. 192-193 (2002)

Tokukaihei 10-125880 discloses a method of first creating leveldifferences in the singlecrystalline Si, forming a small polishingstopper whose polishing rate is smaller than the singlecrystalline Si,then transferring the Si onto another Si substrate, and polishing thedivided surface. By thus forming the stopper in a concave section of thestep and using the difference in polishing speed, this method makes anisland-shaped singlecrystalline Si thin film.

However, the conventional semiconductor substrates, and semiconductordevices, and fabrication methods for those have the followingdisadvantages.

First, in a SOI structure, since the devices are formed on a siliconwafer, the total size of all devices to be provided thereon needs tofall within the silicon (Si) wafer. The size of silicon (Si) wafer islimited, and may be smaller than a large glass substrate in some cases.

Further, since a singlecrystalline Si device formed on the silicon (Si)wafer is bonded onto a glass substrate with an adhesive of, for example,an epoxy resin, there are certain difficulties to additionallyperforming a defect recovery thermal process (Annealing process), aninter-layer insulating film forming process, or a metal-wiring formingprocess after the bonding. Therefore, there is a serious difficulty inconnecting between the device formed in advance on a large glasssubstrate, and a singlecrystalline Si device transferred onto the glasssubstrate through mutual wiring.

Further, this method is more complicated as it first forms an operationregion on a solid phase epitaxial film, which is a singlecrystallinelayer of a thin film grown on a silicon dioxide (SiO₂), to make asinglecrystalline Si device, and then the silicon dioxide (SiO₂) isdivided by etching. Therefore, this method suffers from a decrease inyield (transfer process, division/retention of thin film, epitaxialgrowth).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductorsubstrate and a semiconductor device for realizing a semiconductordevice having a high-performance integrated system in which anon-singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element and a singlecrystallineSi semiconductor element are formed on a large insulating substrate. Thesemiconductor substrate/device of the present invention uses a simplemethod for forming the singlecrystalline Si portion, and ensures deviceisolation of a minute singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element withouthighly-accurate photolithography, when the semiconductor substrate istransferred onto a large insulating substrate. The present inventionalso provides fabrication methods of the semiconductor substrate/device.

In order to solve the foregoing problems, the semiconductor substrateaccording to the present invention comprises: a singlecrystalline Sisubstrate which includes an active layer having a channel region, asource region, and a drain region, the singlecrystalline Si substrateincluding at least a part of a device structure not containing awell-structure or a channel stop region; a gate insulating film formedon the singlecrystalline Si substrate; a gate electrode formed on thegate insulating film; a LOCOS oxide film whose thickness is more than athickness of the gate insulating film, the LOCOS oxide film being formedon the singlecrystalline Si substrate by surrounding the active layer;and an insulating film formed over the gate electrode and the LOCOSoxide film.

Further, in order to solve the foregoing problems, a fabrication methodof a semiconductor substrate according to the present inventioncomprises the steps of: (i) forming a LOCOS oxide film outside a devicearea of a singlecrystalline Si substrate; (ii) forming a gate insulatingfilm in the device area of the singlecrystalline Si substrate; (iii)selectively implanting impurity into the device area of thesinglecrystalline Si substrate so as to form a source region, a drainregion and a channel region which together constitute an active layer;(iv) forming an insulating film with a flat upper surface over the gateelectrode, the gate insulating film, and the LOCOS oxide film; and (v)implanting through the insulating film one or plural kinds of ionselected from a hydrogen ion group or an inactive element ion group soas to form an ion implantation layer with a predetermined depth in thesinglecrystalline Si substrate.

Further, in order to solve the foregoing problems, a fabrication methodof a semiconductor substrate according to the present inventioncomprises the steps of: (i) forming a LOCOS oxide film outside a devicearea of a singlecrystalline Si substrate; (ii) forming a gate insulatingfilm in the device area of the singlecrystalline Si substrate; (iii)selectively implanting impurity into the device area of thesinglecrystalline Si substrate so as to form a source region, a drainregion and a channel region which together constitute an active layer;(iv) forming a first insulating film with a flat upper surface over thegate electrode, the gate insulating film, and the LOCOS oxide film; (v)implanting through the first insulating film one or plural kinds of ionselected from a hydrogen ion group or an inactive element ion group soas to form an ion implantation layer with a predetermined depth in thesinglecrystalline Si substrate; (vi) forming at least one first wiringlayer above the first insulating film; and (vii) forming a secondinsulating film on the first wiring layer.

In the semiconductor substrate according to the present invention, thesemiconductor device, and the fabrication methods of those according tothe present embodiment, there is provided an active layer having achannel region, a source region, and a drain region; and thesinglecrystalline Si substrate includes at least a part of a devicestructure not containing a well-structure or a channel stop region.

With this arrangement using a singlecrystalline Si, the resultingsemiconductor device is superior in performance and less varied incharacteristic.

Further, in this structure not providing a conventional well, a channelstop, or a well-contact, the area of the device area is reduced,allowing more dense integration, thereby realizing a highly-densesemiconductor substrate. Further, since the conventional well isomitted, the device may be made thinner than the conventional structureusing a well. Thus, the semiconductor element can be made as a thin filmwhich can coexist with the TFTs formed from other polycrystalline Siupon formation of the semiconductor device, allowing conduction betweenthe semiconductor element and TFTs through common thin film wiring.Further, since the element can be isolated by etching back the Si thinfilm, which is created as a result of the cleavage, it is possible toensure the device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Si deviceeven on the insulating substrate 25, such as a large glass substrate,without highly-accurate photolithography. Further, since the well isomitted, the fabrication process is simplified.

Further, in the present embodiment, the LOCOS oxide film, thicker thanthe gate insulating film, is formed by surrounding the active layer.This LOCOS oxide film securely ensures the device isolation.

On this account, on fabricating the semiconductor device having ahigh-performance integration system by forming the non-singlecrystallineSi semiconductor element and the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the large insulating substrate, the process for making thesinglecrystalline Si is simplified. Further, the foregoing arrangementprovides a semiconductor substrate and a fabrication method thereof,which ensures device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element without highly-accurate photolithography, when thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is transferred onto the largeinsulating substrate.

Further, in order to solve the foregoing problems, a semiconductordevice according to the present invention includes an insulatingsubstrate, and a singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element formed onthe insulating substrate, the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor elementcomprising: a gate electrode formed above the insulating substrate; agate insulating film formed on the gate electrode; an active layer,which is formed on the gate insulating film and is made of asinglecrystalline Si layer having a channel region, a source region, anda drain region; a LOCOS oxide film formed around the active layer; andan interlayer insulating film formed over the active layer and the LOCOSoxide film.

In the foregoing arrangement, the semiconductor device includes theinsulating substrate, and a singlecrystalline Si semiconductor elementformed on the insulating substrate. The semiconductor device is realizedby, for example, a glass insulating substrate and a singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element combined together.

Further, the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element comprises a gateelectrode formed above the insulating substrate; a gate insulating filmformed on the gate electrode; an active layer, which is formed on thegate insulating film and is made of a singlecrystalline Si layer havinga channel region, a source region, and a drain region; a LOCOS oxidefilm formed around the active layer; and an interlayer insulating filmformed over the active layer and the LOCOS oxide film.

On this account, on fabricating the semiconductor device having ahigh-performance integration system by forming the non-singlecrystallineSi semiconductor element and the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the large insulating substrate, the process for making thesinglecrystalline Si is simplified. Further, the foregoing arrangementprovides a semiconductor substrate and a fabrication method thereof,which ensures device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element without highly-accurate photolithography, when thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is transferred onto the largeinsulating substrate.

Further, the semiconductor device according to the present inventionincludes a wiring layer, which is formed on the interlayer insulatingfilm and is connected to the source and drain regions via through holesformed in the interlayer insulating film.

Further, in order to solve the foregoing problems, a fabrication methodof a semiconductor device according to the present invention comprisesthe steps of: (a) bonding a semiconductor substrate, which wasfabricated by the manufacturing method of the semiconductor substrateaccording to the present invention, onto an insulating substrate; (b)dividing the singlecrystalline Si substrate at the ion implantationlayer by heat treatment so as to detach a part of the singlecrystallineSi substrate; (c) etching a part of singlecrystalline Si on theinsulating substrate so as to expose a surface of the LOCOS oxide film;(d) forming an interlayer insulating film over the active layer and theLOCOS oxide film; and (e) forming a wiring layer on the interlayerinsulating film, and connecting the wiring layer to the source and drainregions via through holes, which is formed in the interlayer insulatingfilm.

With this method, the semiconductor device is provided with a wiringlayer, which is formed on the interlayer insulating film and isconnected to the source and drain regions via through holes formed inthe interlayer insulating film.

With this arrangement, the semiconductor device is conducted to othercircuits, power supply etc. through this metal wiring layer. Further,the metal wiring layer can be formed after the semiconductor substratehaving the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element is bonded to theinsulating substrate.

On this account, on fabricating the semiconductor device having ahigh-performance integration system by forming the non-singlecrystallineSi semiconductor element and the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the large insulating substrate, the process for making thesinglecrystalline Si is simplified. Further, the foregoing arrangementprovides a semiconductor substrate and a fabrication method thereof,which ensures device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element without highly-accurate photolithography, when thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is transferred onto the largeinsulating substrate.

Further, in order to solve the foregoing problems, a semiconductordevice according to the present invention includes an insulatingsubstrate, and a singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element formed onthe insulating substrate, the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor elementcomprising: a gate electrode formed above the insulating substrate; agate insulating film formed on the gate electrode; an active layer,which is formed on the gate insulating film and is made of asinglecrystalline Si layer having a channel region, a source region, anda drain region; a LOCOS oxide film formed around the active layer; ainterlayer insulating film formed over the active layer and the LOCOSoxide film; an insulating film formed between the insulating substrateand the gate electrode; at least one first wiring layer formed beneaththe insulating film; and a second wiring layer, which is formed on theinterlayer insulating film and is connected to the first wiring layer.

Further, in order to solve the foregoing problems, fabrication method ofa semiconductor device according to the present invention, comprisingthe steps of: (a) bonding a semiconductor substrate, which wasfabricated by the manufacturing method of the semiconductor substrateaccording to the present invention, onto an insulating substrate; (b)dividing the singlecrystalline Si substrate at the ion implantationlayer by heat treatment so as to detach a part of the singlecrystallineSi substrate; (c) etching a part of singlecrystalline Si on theinsulating substrate so as to expose a surface of the LOCOS oxide film;(d) forming an interlayer insulating film over the active layer and theLOCOS oxide film; and (e) forming a second wiring layer on theinterlayer insulating film, and connecting the second wiring layer tothe first wiring layer.

On forming the first metal wiring, it is generally required to form aplurality of wiring layers for efficient use of space, in order toincrease the integration density of the IC. However, this results fromdifficulty in providing wiring pattern in actual manufacturing due tothe small element region.

In view of this problem, the semiconductor device of the presentinvention includes at least one first wiring layer formed beneath theinsulating film; and a second wiring layer, which is formed on theinterlayer insulating film and is connected to the first wiring layer.

On this account, it is possible to use space on the rear side of thedevice area, allowing efficient leading of wiring, thereby increasingintegration density.

Additional objects, features, and strengths of the present inventionwill be made clear by the description below. Further, the advantages ofthe present invention will be evident from the following explanation inreference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating one embodiment of asemiconductor substrate according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of asemiconductor device made of a semiconductor substrate, provided with ametal wiring layer.

FIG. 3 (a) through 3 (g) are cross-sectional views illustratingmanufacturing processes of the foregoing semiconductor substrate and thesemiconductor device.

FIGS. 4( a) through 4(e) are cross sectional views illustratingmanufacturing processes of the semiconductor device, these processes areperformed after the processes of FIG. 3( g).

FIG. 5( a) is a plan view showing a size of the semiconductor deviceafter the contact hole is formed. FIG. 5( b) is a plan view forcomparison, showing a size of a conventional semiconductor device afterthe contact hole is formed.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view illustrating a semiconductor device inwhich a singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element and anon-singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element coexist on the insulatingsubstrate.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a display section with the pixelshaving switching transistors formed from a non-crystalline Sisemiconductor element, and a display device including a processingcircuit including a transistor formed from a singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor device.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of asemiconductor device, according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 9( a) through 9(g) are cross-sectional views illustratingmanufacturing processes of the foregoing semiconductor substrate and thesemiconductor device.

FIGS. 10( a) through 10(e) are cross sectional views illustratingmanufacturing processes of the semiconductor device, these processes areperformed after the processes of FIG. 9( g).

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor device,which is a modification of the semiconductor device of FIG. 8.

FIGS. 12( a) through 12(i) are cross sectional views illustratingmanufacturing processes of a semiconductor device.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventionalsemiconductor device of a well-structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Referential Embodiment

Before the explanation of the present embodiment, the followingdescribes a technology suggested in an unpublished patent application,which is made by the same inventor prior to the present invention, aimedat solving the conventional problems.

First, the conventional problems are summarized below.

In a SOI (Silicon On Insulator) structure, since the devices are formedon a silicon (Si) wafer, the total size of all devices to be providedthereon needs to fall within the silicon (Si) wafer. However, the sizeof silicon (Si) wafer is limited, and may be smaller than a large glasssubstrate.

Moreover, since a singlecrystalline Si device formed on the silicon (Si)wafer is bonded onto a glass substrate with an adhesive of, for example,an epoxy resin, there are serious difficulties to additionallyperforming a defect recovery thermal process (Annealing process), aninter-layer insulating film forming process, or a metal-wiring formingprocess, after the bonding. Therefore, there is a serious difficulty inconnecting between the device formed in advance on a large glasssubstrate, and a singlecrystalline Si device transferred onto the glasssubstrate, using mutual wiring.

Further, this method is complicated, as it first forms an operationregion on a solid phase epitaxial film, which region is asinglecrystalline layer of a thin film grown on a silicon dioxide (SiO₂)to become a singlecrystalline Si device, and then the silicon dioxide(SiO₂) is divided by etching. Therefore, this method arises a problem ofdecrease in yield (transfer process, division/retention of thin film,epitaxial growth).

In view of this problem, as shown in FIGS. 12( a) through 12(c), theinventors, and other researches concerning the invention made afabrication method of a semiconductor device, which is detailed below.First, the main process for creating a transistor is performed byforming a gate electrode 83, an impurity doped portion 84, and a gateinsulating film 82 on a singlecrystalline Si substrate 81 throughmicro-fabrication. Next, hydrogen ion of a predetermined concentrationis implanted into the substrate with a predetermined depth so as to forman ion implantation section 85. An oxide film 86 is formed on thesurface and is then flattened by CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing).Then, the singlecrystalline Si substrate 81 is cut into apredetermined-shape, and is brought into contact with a glass substrate88, which is thereon provided with a SiO₂ film 87 by a plasma CVD usingTEOS (Si(OC₂H₅)₄: Tetra Ethyl Ortho Silicate) and having been activatedby an SC1 cleaning solution or the like, so that the singlecrystallineSi substrate 81 and the glass substrate 88 are bonded.

Next, the two mated substrates are heated to grow a Platelet, whichcontains hydrogen gas, in the hydrogen ion implantation section 85, thePlatelet is then separated as a thin film of a singlecrystalline Sidevice 90. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 12( d) through 12(i), thesinglecrystalline Si device 90 and a non-singlecrystalline Si TFT 91coexist.

With this structure, this invention provides means to solve theconventional size restriction depending on the size of Si wafer.

Further, since this method also allows omission of the step of forming asolid phase epitaxial film on the silicon dioxide (SiO₂), it is alsopossible to solve the defects of increase in time of fabrication,complication of fabrication and a decrease in yield (transfer process,division/retention of thin film, epitaxial growth) arisen in theconventional method, which first forms an operation region on a solidphase epitaxial film, which is a singlecrystalline layer of a thin filmgrown on a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) to become a singlecrystalline Sidevice, and then divides the silicon dioxide (SiO₂) by etching.

However, to realize high-density integration of the singlecrystallinethin film transistor Si while ensuring sufficiently high performance,there are some more problems yet to be overcome as detailed below.

Specifically, to form a singlecrystalline Si device on a large glasssubstrate, it is necessary to perform device isolation; however, theetching of the singlecrystalline Si into an island-shape described inthe foregoing method is practically impossible due to restriction ofphotolithography with a large glass substrate.

Further, when the singlecrystalline Si is eventually transferred onto aninsulating substrate such as a glass substrate so as to form a device,the singlecrystalline Si becomes a thin film. Therefore, it is notnecessary to create a complex well structure or to perform dopingprocess for making, channel stop etc., which are required for a generalbulk singlecrystalline Si LSI; however, there still are problemsregarding device isolation, recovery of surface damage after creating athin film, solution for realizing the short channel. Thus, it isnecessary to create a new fabrication method or a new device structureto solve those problems.

Further, there is another method in which hydrogen ion or the like isimplanted into a portion of a Si substrate on which a part of thesinglecrystalline Si device is formed, and the singlecrystalline Sidevice is cut into a thin film by being divided at the ion implantationportion. In addition to the above-mentioned problem, this method furtherhas inadequacies in device isolation (defective Si island's end inisland etching) and reduction in stress leakage current.

The following describes the embodiments of the present invention whichovercome the problems above.

First Embodiment

One embodiment of the present invention is described below withreference to FIGS. 1 through 7.

Note that, the semiconductor substrate and the semiconductor deviceaccording to the present embodiment provide improved performance andimproved functionality on account of a structure in which a MOSnon-singlecrystalline Si thin film transistor and a MOSsinglecrystalline Si thin film transistor are formed in differentregions of an insulating substrate, such as a glass substrate. Thissemiconductor device is to be mounted to an active matrix substrateusing TFTs (Thin Film Transistor).

The MOS thin film transistor is a general transistor comprising anactive layer, a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, and a highconcentration impurity doped portion (source/drain electrodes) formed oneach side of the gate, wherein the gate electrode controls the carrierdensity of the semiconductor layer under the gate, so as to control aflow of source-drain current.

As one of the characteristics, the MOS transistor, when arranged as aCMOS (Complementary MOS) structure, consumes less power, and producesfull output according to the power voltage. With this advantage, the MOStransistor is suitable for a low power consumption logic device. Thepresent embodiment assumes a CMOS (Complementary MOS), but only one MOS(Metal Oxide Semiconductor) is illustrated in the accompanied figures.

As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor substrate 10 according to thepresent embodiment includes a singlecrystalline silicon (Si) wafer(Singlecrystalline Si wafer, hereinafter) 8 which is provided as asinglecrystalline Si substrate including neither well-structure norchannel stop structure; a gate insulating film 3 formed on thesinglecrystalline Si wafer 8; a gate electrode 2 formed on the gateinsulating film 3; and a LOCOS (Local Oxidation of Silicon: SelectiveOxidation) oxide film 7; and a planarization insulating film 1 formed asan insulating film over the LOCOS oxide film 7 and the gate electrode 2.The singlecrystalline silicon wafer 8 includes an active layer 6 whichhas a channel region 17, and source/drain regions 4 and 5. The LOCOSoxide film 7 is formed on the singlecrystalline Si wafer 8 around theactive layer 6, and has a thickness greater than the gate insulatingfilm 3.

Further, for threshold control, the active layer 6 has N+ or P+ impurityimplantation portion, where the source region 4 and the drain region 5are formed. These impurity portions are formed in a device area in whicha shallow reverse-conductive impurity is doped.

More specifically, in the semiconductor substrate 10 according to thepresent embodiment, the singlecrystalline Si wafer 8 is provided with aLDD (Lightly Doped Drain) structure (4 a/5 a), or implantation (doping)of either Pocket or Halo as a solution for realizing the short channel.However, aside from these implantations, there is no more ionimplantations is required, such as implantation for well structure orchannel stop; also, the well contact is not made.

The oxide film 1, with a flat surface, is formed of a silicon dioxide(SiO₂) film, a phosphorous silicate glass (PSG) film or aborophospho-silicate glass (BPSG) film, for example. Further, in ageneral LSI, the LOCOS film is provided as one of the means for deviceisolation. The LOCOS film is usually formed as a thick thermal oxidefilm (field oxide film) around the active layer 6 so as to function as athick insulating film for the gate electrode running across the fieldsection, thereby increasing the threshold voltage of a parasitictransistor generated in the portion. In this way, the LOCOS film servesto isolate elements into separate areas, thus ensuring device isolation.

In the present embodiment, the thickness of the LOCOS oxide film 7ranges approximately from 30 nm to 200 nm. More specifically, comparedwith a conventional MOSLSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) using anoxide film whose thickness is approximately 500 nm (at least 300 nm) orgreater, the LOCOS film of the present embodiment, to be grown to afield region 16, has a ½ or 1/10 thickness, i.e., approximately 30 nm to200 nm. This thickness in the present embodiment relies on the fact thatthe portion of the parasitic transistor is removed from the Si film,that is, there will be no parasitic transistor generated in thisstructure.

This structure allows creation of a thin film device, which can coexistwith a non-singlecrystalline Si on the insulating substrate such as alarge glass substrate. This structure also achieves great reduction intime for oxidization, besides the oxidization can be carried out not ina wet method but in a dry method at a practically satisfactory level.Particularly, since the stress due to oxidization in the edge of theoxide film is greatly reduced, the characteristics of the transistorbecome stable. Further, the thin oxide film helps reduction of Bird'sBeak, thus providing a minute device area in the transistor with highaccuracy.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 10 according to the presentembodiment, as shown in the figure, an ion implantation layer 9 isformed on the singlecrystalline Si wafer 8 with a predetermined depth,inside the active layer 6. This ion implantation layer 9 is formed byimplanting either or both of hydrogen ion and inactive element ion suchas helium (He) ion, having a predetermined concentration. With thisarrangement, as described later, a part of the singlecrystalline Siwafer 8 can be removed through the ion implantation layer 9.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the semiconductor substrate 10 mayinclude at least one metal wiring layer, as shown in FIG. 2.

Specifically, this semiconductor substrate 10 includes a gate electrode2 formed on the planarization insulating film 1; a gate insulating film3 formed on the gate electrode 2, an active layer 6 not containing awell-structure, formed on the gate insulating film 3; a LOCOS oxide film7; a protective-insulating-interlayer film 21 formed over the activelayer 6 and the LOCOS oxide film 7; and metal wiring layers 23 formed onthe surface of the protective-insulating-interlayer film 21. The activelayer 6 is made of a singlecrystalline Si having impurity implantationportions of N+ or P+, which are to be the source/drain regions 4/5.These impurity portions are formed in the element-forming-region inwhich a shallow reverse-conductive impurity is doped. The LOCOS oxidefilm 7 is formed around the active layer 6. The metal wiring layers 23are connected to the source and drain regions 4 and 5, respectively,through contact holes 22 which are formed on theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21 to establish conduction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the semiconductor device 30 of the presentembodiment is formed by bonding the semiconductor substrate 10 onto aninsulating substrate 25. More specifically, as shown in the figure, inthe semiconductor device 30, a semiconductor device 10 is formed on theinsulating substrate 25 through a silicon dioxide film (SiO₂) 26 whichis formed by plasma CVD using TEOS (Si (OC₂H₅)₄: Tetra Ethyl OrthoSilicate).

With reference to FIGS. 3( a) through 3(g), and FIGS. 4( a) through4(e), the following explains a fabrication method of the semiconductorsubstrate 10 and the semiconductor device 30.

First, as shown in FIG. 3( a), a singlecrystalline Si wafer 8 made of asinglecrystalline silicon (Si) is prepared, and its surface is subjectedto oxidization so as to form a thin silicon dioxide (SiO₂) film 11 witha thickness of about 30 nm. Next, a silicon nitride (SiN) film 12 isdeposited over the silicon dioxide (SiO₂) 11 by plasma CVD (ChemicalVapor deposition), and then, the silicon nitride (SiN) film 12 isremoved by etching except for the device area.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3( b), by using the silicon nitride (SiN) 12 as amask, and using an oxide film with a thickness of about 120 nm made of asilicon dioxide (SiO₂) as a field oxide film, a LOCOS oxide film 7 isgrown by dry oxidization.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3( c), the silicon nitride (SiN) film 12 isremoved by etching, and boron (B) and phosphorous (P) are implanted inthe device area 13 surrounded by the LOCOS oxide film 7, which is afield oxide film, for adjustment of the threshold voltage in the N/Pchannel regions; and then, the silicon dioxide (SiO₂) film 11 isremoved. More specifically, in the device area 13, implantation of boron(B) ion creates a P-region, where, as described later, arsenic (As) ionis further implanted to form the source and drain regions 4 and 5 toform a N-type MOS transistor. On the other hand, by implantingphosphorous (As) ion to the device area 13, and further implanting borondifluoride (BF₂) ion to form the source and drain regions 4 and 5, aP-type MOS transistor is formed. Further, in the present embodiment, theN-type MOS transistor and the P-type MOS transistor are formed at thesame time, to be a CMOS transistor. The region having the channel region(the region beneath the gate electrode 2), the source region 4, and thedrain region 5 becomes the active layer 6. Further, an impurity ion isimplanted in the channel region beneath the gate electrode 2, so as toadjust the threshold voltage.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3( d), a 15 nm thick silicon dioxide (SiO₂)is deposited by dry oxidization to form the gate insulating film 3.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3( e), a polycrystalline silicon (Si) (Poly-Si,hereinafter) or the like is formed on the gate insulating film 3, with athickness of about 300 nm, then, phosphorous oxychloride (POCl₃: notshown) is deposited thereon, and heated at 850° C. for diffusion. Theproduct is patterned to form the gate electrode 2, and boron (B) orphosphorous (P) is implanted to form the LDD structures 4 a and 5 a.Further, a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) of about 300 nm is deposited thereon,which is then etched back by reaction ion etching (RIE) to form the sidewalls 15.

Next, arsenic (As) ion or boron fluorine (BF₂) ion is implanted to formthe source and drain regions, followed by activation annealing at about900° C., thereby forming the source region 4 and the drain region 5.Next, a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) with a thickness of about 100 nm isdeposited by APCVD (Atmospheric Pressure CVD), and a silicon dioxide(SiO₂) with a thickness of about 400 nm is further deposited by PECVD(Plasma Enhanced CVD) using TEOS, which is then polished by CMP(Chemical Mechanical Polishing) for about 100 nm to flatten the surface,thereby forming a planarization insulating film 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3( f), hydrogen (H) ion or the like is implantedinto the singlecrystalline Si wafer 8 through the planarizationinsulating film 1. Here, hydrogen (H) ion with a dose of 5.5×10¹⁶ cm-²is implanted in the ion implantation layer 9 at 100 keV. Note that, thehydrogen (H) ion is not limited to this, but may be helium (He) ion orthe like. Further, in the present embodiment, the power for implantationis adjusted so that the resulting ion implantation layer 9 formed in theactive layer 6 of singlecrystalline Si extends into the Si crystalbeneath the LOCOS oxide film 7.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3( g), the substrate turned upside down,and is subjected to washing and surface activation together with anotherinsulating substrate 25 on which a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) with athickness of about 100 nm is formed by a plasma CVD using TEOS andoxygen gas. The washing and surface activation is performed by megasonicshower of a mixture liquid (SC1 liquid) of ammonia water, hydrogenperoxide solution and pure water. After cleaning and surface activation,the substrate 10 is bonded to the insulating substrate 25 in accordancewith the marker (not shown) on the planarization insulating film 1, asshown in FIG. 4( a). Here, the insulating substrate 25 is bonded becauseof the planarization insulating film 1, Van der Waals force and hydrogenbond. Note that, instead of the SC1 cleaning, the surface may beactivated by being exposed in oxygen plasma atmosphere. Further, in FIG.3( g), the insulating substrate 25 has the same size as thesemiconductor substrate 10, but it may be a larger glass substrate whosearea corresponds to a large number of semiconductor substrates 10. Notethat, in the present embodiment, the insulating substrate 25 is made ofa glass, for example, “code 1737”, a product of Corning (alkali-earthalumino-boro-sillicated glass).

Next, the combined body is subjected to annealing at about 250° C. fortwo hours to ensure the bonding. Thereafter, through heat treatment atabout 600° C. for three minutes, the body is cleaved at the ionimplantation layer (projection range of ion implantation) 9 so as toseparate the singlecrystalline Si wafer 8, as shown in FIG. 4( b).

Next, as shown in FIG. 4( c), a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) with a thicknessof about 100 nm is deposited on the divided surface by plasma CVD, andis etched back by reaction ion etching (RIE). At this stage, first,mixture gas of carbonfluoride (CF₄) and hydrogen is used. After etchingis done for about 100 nm, the mixture gas is replaced with anothermixture gas of carbon-fluorine (CF₄) and oxygen, and the reaction ionetching is continued. The etching is stopped when the singlecrystallineSi film is all removed from the LOCOS oxide film 7 as the filed oxidefilm. Here, as it is difficult to monitor the termination of etching,the etching is stopped after a certain time elapsed, which time wasdecided in advance based on the etching rate.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4( d), the surface is lightly etched withbuffered hydrogen fluoride (HF), and the substrate is heated to 380° C.Then a silicon dioxide (SiO2) of about 400 nm is deposited by PECVDusing TEOS to form a protective-insulating-interlayer film 21.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4( e), the contact holes 22 are created on theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21, and a material for metalwiring is deposited therein to form the metal wiring layers 23. Thisembodiment uses Ti/TiN/Al—Si/TiN/Ti, whose total thickness is about 400nm. Then, the material is patterned into a predetermined shape.Consequently, as shown in FIG. 2, a semiconductor device 30 includingmany singlecrystalline Si TFTs is formed on the insulating substrate 25.

The CMOS inverter, as the basic circuit element of the semiconductordevice thus fabricated is shown in FIG. 5( a). As can be seen in thefigure, this CMOS inverter has a lot smaller area than the conventionalCMOS inverter shown in FIG. 5( b).

As explained, the semiconductor substrate 10 of the present embodimentis a singlecrystalline Si MOS transistor formed on a device areasurrounded by a thin field oxide film. Because of the omission of wellstructure, the configuration becomes simple, thereby achieving anincrease in yield and a decrease in cost. Though this semiconductorsubstrate does not operate alone, it ensures high performance whentransferred onto the insulating substrate 25, which is made of adifferent glass substrate or the like. Further, the semiconductor device30 includes a SiO₂ film, a MOS non-singlecrystalline Si thin filmtransistor including a non-singlecrystalline Si thin film made of apolycrystalline Si, a MOS singlecrystalline Si thin film transistorincluding a singlecrystalline Si thin film, and metal wiring.

Further, in the present embodiment, a thin film device, which cancoexist with a non-singlecrystalline Si, is transferred onto, forexample, a large glass substrate in the following manner. First, boronion or phosphorous ion with a predetermined concentration is implantedin an area, which is surrounded by the field oxide film and becomeseither a n-channel area or a p-channel area, so as to adjust thethreshold voltage. Then, the gate insulating film 3, and the gateelectrode 2 are formed, and if necessary, LDD, HALO or Pocketimplantation is carried out. Further, N+ or P+ is implanted to form thesource/drain regions 4/5, and a planarization film is formed. Hydrogenion or He ion with a predetermined concentration is implanted alone ortogether with He, Ne or the like to a predetermined depth. The substrateis then cut into a predetermined shape, and the surface is activated byoxygen plasma, hydrogen peroxide solution, or RCA1 cleaning solution(SC1). The substrate is then closely brought into contact with aninsulating substrate 25 on which a part or the wholenon-singlecrystalline Si TFT is formed, followed by bonding and heattreatment. As a result, the bulk singlecrystalline Si portion is cleavedat the ion implantation layer 9 to become a thin film.

Next, the surface of the singlecrystalline Si is etched back by RIE(reactive ion etching) to shape the substrate into a thin film, and theetching is continued until the Si film is all removed from the LOCOSoxide film 7. In this manner, it is possible to create the minutetransistor region without accurate positioning, thereby ensuring deviceisolation.

Note that, by forming a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) film on the thin film ofthe singlecrystalline Si, thus created through the cleavage, throughPECVD using TEOS or the like, and etching back the film by etchant gas,which has a composition (e.g., CF₄ and hydrogen) allowing to the wholefilm, including the deposited oxide film and the singlecrystalline Sifilm, to have a predetermined thickness, the surface of the film isflattened and the leak current is reduced in the resulting device.

This process allows omission of well-structure, ion implantation forchannel stop or the like, well contact region etc., which are requiredin a common MOSLSI, thus allowing great simplification in space andprocess.

Consequently, the thickness of the singlecrystalline Si thin filmbecomes substantially ½ of the whole thickness of the Si oxide film(LOLOS oxide film 7) formed around the active layer 6, so that thepattern edge of the singlecrystalline Si thin film almost matches withthe inclination of the pattern edge of the Si oxide film around theactive layer 6. With this configuration, device isolation is ensured,thereby reducing leak current due to defective edge of Si island andstress in the conventional island etching.

Further, the protective-insulating-interlayer film 21 is depositedthereon, the contact holes 22 are further formed therein, and the metalwiring layer 23 is formed. The device is here completed.

Here, the protective-insulating-interlayer film 21 is made of aprotection insulating film and an interlayer insulating film, which maybe formed of the same material as long as their function andcharacteristics are ensured.

Further, after implantation of hydrogen ion etc., conduction with sourceand drain is established by metal wiring, which is formed of a metalwith a high melting point, and is not easily oxidized; then, aplanarization film is deposited thereon, whose surface is flattened byCMP or the like to make an appropriate condition for combining with theinsulating substrate 25, before bonded to the insulating substrate 25,and the bulk Si is cleaved through heat treatment. In this manner, it ispossible to realize both miniaturization and higher integration density.

As described, in the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductordevice 30 and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, there is provided an active layer 6 having a channel region17, a source region 4, and a drain region 5; and a singlecrystalline Siwafer 8 including at least a part of a device structure not containing awell-structure or a channel stop region is used.

With this arrangement using a singlecrystalline Si, the resultingsemiconductor device is superior in performance and less varied incharacteristic.

Further, in the present embodiment not providing a conventional well, achannel stop, or a well-contact, the area of the device area 13 isreduced, allowing more dense integration, thereby realizing ahighly-dense semiconductor substrate 10. Further, since the conventionalwell is omitted, the transistor may be made thinner than theconventional structure using a well. Thus, the semiconductor element canbe made as a thin film which can coexist with the TFTs formed from otherpolycrystalline Si upon formation of the semiconductor device 30,allowing conduction between the semiconductor element and TFTs throughcommon thin film wiring. Further, since the element is made as a thinfilm, it is possible to ensure the device isolation of the minutesinglecrystalline Si device even on the insulating substrate 25, such asa large glass substrate, without highly-accurate photolithography.Further, since the well is omitted, the fabrication process issimplified.

Further, in the present embodiment, the LOCOS oxide film 7, thicker thanthe gate insulating film 3, is formed by surrounding the active layer 6.This LOCOS oxide film 7 securely ensures the device isolation.

On this account, on fabricating the semiconductor device 30 having ahigh-performance integration system by forming the non-singlecrystallineSi semiconductor element and the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the large insulating substrate 25, the process for making thesinglecrystalline Si is simplified. Further, the foregoing arrangementprovides a semiconductor substrate and a fabrication method thereof,which ensures device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element without highly-accurate photolithography, when thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is transferred onto the largeinsulating substrate 25. Note that, though the present embodiment uses alarge insulating substrate 25, the present invention may use a smallerinsulating substrate.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device30 and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, the source region and the drain region of the active layerat least have a LDD structure. Therefore, the change in densitydistribution of impurities in the vicinity of the drain becomes lessrapid, and the electric field strength in the vicinity of the drainregion 5 is reduced, thereby improving reliability.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device30 and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, the planarization insulating film 1 has a flat uppersurface. On this account, the insulating substrate 25, which is realizedby a flat glass substrate or the like, may be bonded to theplanarization insulating film 1.

In the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device 30 andthe fabrication methods of those according to the present embodiment, incontrast to a conventional MOSLSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) usingan oxide film whose thickness is approximately 500 nm (at least 300 nm)or greater, the LOCOS film, which is to be grown to a field region 16,has a ½ or 1/10 thickness, i.e., approximately 30 nm to 200 nm.

This structure achieves great reduction in time for oxidization, besidesthe oxidization can be carried out not in a wet method but in a drymethod at a practically satisfactory level. Particularly, since thestress due to oxidization in the edge of the oxide film is greatlyreduced, the characteristics of the transistor become stable. Further,the thin oxide film helps reduction of Bird's Beak, thus providing aminute device area in the transistor with high accuracy.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device30 and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, an ion implantation layer is formed in the singlecrystallineSi substrate with a predetermined depth through implantation of one orplural kinds of ion selected from a hydrogen ion group or an inactiveelement ion group. With this arrangement, the wafer is cleaved at theion implantation layer 9 by heat treatment. This structure allowscreation of a thin film device, which can coexist with anon-singlecrystalline Si on a large insulating substrate or the like.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device30 and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, the ion implantation layer 9 formed in the singlecrystallineSi wafer 8 with a predetermined depth is formed in a portion lower thanthe LOCOS oxide film 7. On this account, by etching back the surface ofthe singlecrystalline Si thin film, which became a thin film bycleavage, to the implantation surface of the LOCOS oxide film, thesurface is flattened. With this arrangement, the leak current is reducedin the resulting device.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device30 and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, the LOCOS oxide film 7 is a thin film, which can be formedby dry oxidation. Therefore, it is possible to greatly reduce the stressupon oxidization of ends of the oxide film, thereby obtaining atransistor with stable characteristics.

Further, semiconductor device 30 of the present embodiment includes theinsulating substrate 25, and a singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement formed on the insulating substrate 25. The semiconductor device30 is realized by, for example, a glass insulating substrate 25 and asinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element combined together.

Further, the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element comprising agate electrode 2 formed above the insulating substrate 25; a gateinsulating film 3 formed on the gate electrode 2; an active layer 6,which is formed on the gate insulating film 3 and is made of asinglecrystalline Si layer having a channel region 17, a source region4, and a drain region 5; a LOCOS oxide film 7 formed around the activelayer 16; and an interlayer insulating film 21 formed over the activelayer 6 and the LOCOS oxide film 7.

On this account, on fabricating the semiconductor device 30 having ahigh-performance integration system by forming the non-singlecrystallineSi semiconductor element and the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the large insulating substrate 25, the process for making thesinglecrystalline Si is simplified. Further, the foregoing arrangementprovides a semiconductor substrate and a fabrication method thereof,which ensures device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element without highly-accurate photolithography, when thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is transferred onto the largeinsulating substrate 25.

Further, the semiconductor device 30 according to the present embodimentincludes a metal wiring layer 23, which is formed on theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21 and is connected to the sourceand drain regions 4 and 5 via contact holes 22 formed in theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21.

Further, a fabrication method of a semiconductor device 30 according tothe present embodiment comprises the steps of: (a) bonding thesemiconductor substrate 10, formed by the foregoing fabrication methodof the semiconductor substrate 10, onto the insulating substrate 25, (b)dividing the singlecrystalline Si substrate at the ion implantationlayer 9 by heat treatment so as to detach a part of thesinglecrystalline Si wafer 8; (c) etching a part of thesinglecrystalline Si on the insulating substrate 25 so as to expose asurface of the LOCOS oxide film 7; (d) forming an theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21 over the active layer 6 and theLOCOS oxide film 7; and (e) forming a metal wiring layer 23 on theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21, and connecting the metalwiring layer 23 to the source and drain regions 4 and 5 via contactholes 22, which is formed in the protective-insulating-interlayer film21.

The foregoing arrangement includes a metal wiring layer 23, which isformed on the protective-insulating-interlayer film 21 and is connectedto the source and drain regions 4 and 5 via contact holes 22 formed inthe protective-insulating-interlayer film 21. With this arrangement, thesemiconductor device 30 is conducted to other circuits, power supplyetc. through this metal wiring layer 23. Further, the metal wiring layer23 can be formed after the semiconductor substrate 10 having thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is bonded to the insulatingsubstrate 25.

On this account, on fabricating the semiconductor device 30 having ahigh-performance integration system by forming the non-singlecrystallineSi semiconductor element and the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the large insulating substrate 25, the process for making thesinglecrystalline Si is simplified. Further, the foregoing arrangementprovides a semiconductor substrate and a fabrication method thereof,which ensures device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element without highly-accurate photolithography, when thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is transferred onto the largeinsulating substrate 25.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device30 and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, the upper surface of the active layer 6 exists lower thanthe upper surface of the LOCOS oxide film 7, because the surface of thesinglecrystalline Si thin film, which became a thin film by cleavage, isetched back to be lower than the surface of the LOCOS oxide film 7 to bea flat plane. With this arrangement, the leak current is reduced in theresulting device.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device30 and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, both edges of the active layer lie along inclinations ofedges of the LOCOS oxide film. With this configuration, device isolationis ensured, thereby reducing leak current due to defective edge of Siisland and stress in the conventional island etching.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the semiconductor device 30 and thefabrication method thereof according to the present embodiment, thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is formed in one portion ofthe insulating substrate, and a non-singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement is formed on another portion of the insulating substrate.

This arrangement allows coexistence of a singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element and a non-singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the insulating substrate 25.

In the conventional liquid crystal display device or the otherconventional displays, switching transistors for the pixels are formedof non-singlecrystalline Si semiconductor elements on the insulatingsubstrate 25 of glass or the like. Then, after the wiring pattern forthe transistors are formed, the display drive circuit for driving thedisplay section and/or the processing circuit for outputtingpredetermined signals to the display drive circuit is provided in thefrom of COG or COF realized by the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement, and the circuit is then connected to the wiring pattern.

However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, at least a partof the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element constitutes theswitching transistor which controls display of each pixel constituting adisplay section 71, and the transistor constituted of thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element constitutes either a displaydrive circuit 72/73 for driving the display section, or a processingcircuit 74/75 for outputting a predetermined signal to the display drivecircuit 72/73; further, the transistor is also used as a substrate forconstituting the display device 70.

On this account, after the part or the whole of thenon-singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element and the part of thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element are formed on the insulatingsubstrate 25, their conduction is made by a common wiring layer. On thisaccount, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device 30 whichrealizes a high-quality display device with high productivity.

Further, in the fabrication methods of the semiconductor device 30according to the present embodiment, before they are bonded, surfaces ofthe semiconductor substrate 10 and the insulating substrate 25 areactivated through either washing by cleaning water containing a hydrogenperoxide solution, or by exposure under oxygen-plasma atmosphere.

As a result, the semiconductor substrate 10 and the insulating substrate25 are bonded by Van der Waals or hydrogen bond, without an adhesive.Note that, this bonding becomes a firm Si—O coupling through the heattreatment performed thereafter.

Further, in the fabrication method of the semiconductor device 30according to the present embodiment, the heat treatment in thesinglecrystalline Si substrate removal process is carried out at atemperature ranging approximately from 250° C. to 600° C.

In this method, the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element is heatedto, for example, a temperature at which the hydrogen ion is separatedfrom the Si, thus securing the bonding strength between thesemiconductor substrate and the insulating substrate 25; further, theheat causes the wafer body to be cleaved at the ion implantation layer9, detaching a part of the singlecrystalline Si wafer 8.

Second Embodiment

Another embodiment of the present invention is explained below withreference to FIGS. 8 through 11. Note that, the following embodiment isidentical to First Embodiment except for the arrangements explainedbelow. For ease of explanation, materials having the equivalentfunctions as those shown in the drawings pertaining to the foregoingFirst Embodiment will be given the same reference symbols, andexplanation thereof will be omitted here.

In the semiconductor substrate 10 and the semiconductor device 30according to First Embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the metal wiringlayers 23 as external electrodes are connected directly to the sourceand drain regions 4 and 5 through contact holes 22 of theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, in the semiconductor device 50according to the present embodiment, the first metal wiring 42, which isthe first wiring layer for making conduction with the source/drainregion 4/5, is first lead to the rear surface of the semiconductorsubstrate 40 and the semiconductor device 50 (both described later), andthen is drawn back onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate 40and the semiconductor device 50 in the field region 16 formed around thedevice area 13, as second metal wiring 45, which is a second wiringlayer.

Specifically, as shown in the figure, the semiconductor substrate 40according to the present embodiment includes an insulating substrate 25and a singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element formed on theinsulating substrate 25.

The singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element includes; a gateelectrode 2 formed above the insulating substrate 25; a gate insulatingfilm 3 formed on the gate electrode 2; an active layer 6 formed of asinglecrystalline Si layer, having a channel region 17 and source/drainregions 4 and 5, formed on the gate insulating film 3; and a LOCOS oxidefilm 7 formed around the active layer 6; and aprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21 formed over the active layer 6and the LOCOS oxide film 7. The singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement further includes; an interlayer insulating film 43; at least onefirst metal wiring 42 formed on the upper surface of the interlayerinsulating film 43; and a second metal wiring 45, formed on theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21, being connected to the firstmetal wiring 42.

The active layer 6 is made of a singlecrystalline Si. For thresholdcontrol, the active layer 6 does not include a well structure, and isprovided with N+ or P+ impurity implantation portion, where the sourceregion 4 and the drain region 5 are formed. These impurity portions areformed in a device area in which a shallow reverse-conductive impurityis doped.

The first metal wirings 42 are connected to the source and drain regions4 and 5, respectively, through contact holes 41 which are formed on theinsulating film 1 and the gate insulating film 3 to establishconduction. The other end of each first metal wiring 42 is exposed tothe rear surface of the insulating film 1. Further, the second metalwiring 45, being formed on the surface of theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21 through contact holes 44 whichis formed on the insulating film 1, the gate insulating film 3, and theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21 to establish conduction, isconnected to the first metal wiring 42.

Further, as shown in the figure, the semiconductor device 50 is formedby mounting the foregoing semiconductor substrate 40 onto the insulatingsubstrate 25, such as a glass substrate. More specifically, thesemiconductor device 50 is mounted on the insulating substrate 25through a silicon dioxide film (SiO₂) 26 which is formed by plasma CVDusing TEOS.

With reference to FIGS. 9( a) through 9(g), and FIGS. 10( a) through10(e), the following explains a fabrication method of the semiconductorsubstrate 40 and the semiconductor device 50. The processes shown inFIGS. 9( a) through 9(f) are the same as those of FIG. 3( a) through3(f).

First, as shown in FIG. 9( a), a singlecrystalline Si wafer 8 made of asinglecrystalline silicon (Si) is prepared, and its surface is subjectedto oxidization so as to form a thin silicon dioxide (SiO₂) film 11 witha thickness of about 30 nm. Next, a silicon nitride (SiN) film 12 isdeposited over the silicon dioxide (SiO₂) 11 by plasma CVD (ChemicalVapor deposition), and then, the silicon nitride (SiN) film 12 isremoved by etching except for the device area.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9( b), by using the silicon nitride (SiN) 12 as amask, and using an oxide film with a thickness of about 120 nm made of asilicon dioxide (SiO₂) as a field oxide film, a LOCOS oxide film 7 isgrown by dry oxidization.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9( c), the silicon nitride (SiN) film 12 isremoved by etching, and boron (B) and phosphorous (P) are implanted inthe device area 13 surrounded by the LOCOS oxide film 7, which is afield oxide film, for adjustment of the threshold voltage in the N/Pchannel regions; and then, the silicon dioxide (SiO₂) film 11 isremoved. The region having the channel region (the region beneath thegate electrode 2), the source region 4, and the drain region 5 becomesthe active layer 6. Further, an impurity ion is implanted in the channelregion beneath the gate electrode 2, so as to adjust the thresholdvoltage.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3( d), a 15 nm thick silicon dioxide (SiO₂)is deposited by dry oxidization to form the gate insulating film 3.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9( e), a polycrystalline silicon (Si) (Poly-Si,hereinafter) or the like is formed on the gate insulating film 3, with athickness of about 300 nm, then, phosphorous oxychloride (POCl₃: notshown) is deposited thereon, and heated at 800° C. for diffusion. Theproduct is patterned to form the gate electrode 2, and boron (B) orphosphorous (P) is implanted to form the LDD structures 4 a and 5 a.Further, a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) of about 300 nm is deposited thereon,which is then etched back by reaction ion etching (RIE) to form the sidewalls 15.

Next, arsenic (As) ion or boron fluorine (BF₂) ion is implanted to formthe source and drain regions, followed by activation annealing at about900° C., thereby forming the source region 4 and the drain region 5.Next, a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) with a thickness of about 100 nm isdeposited by APCVD (Atmospheric Pressure CVD), and a silicon dioxide(SiO₂) with a thickness of about 400 nm is further deposited by PECVD(Plasma Enhanced CVD) using TEOS, which is then polished by CMP(Chemical Mechanical Polishing) for about 100 nm to flatten the surface,thereby forming a planarization insulating film 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3( f), hydrogen (H) ion is implanted into thesinglecrystalline Si wafer 8 through the insulating film 1. Here,hydrogen (H) ion with a dose of 5.5×10¹⁶ cm-² is implanted in the ionimplantation layer 9 at 100 keV. Note that, the hydrogen (H) ion is notlimited to this, but may be helium (He) ion or the like. Further, in thepresent embodiment, the power for implantation is adjusted so that theresulting ion implantation layer 9 formed in the active layer 6 ofsinglecrystalline Si extends into the Si crystal beneath the LOCOS oxidefilm 7.

The processes hereinafter differ from those of First Embodiment.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9( e), a 200 nm thicksilicon dioxide (SiO₂) is further formed thereon, the contact holes 41are made, and a material for metal wiring is deposited therein to formthe first metal wirings 42. In consideration of heat-resistanttemperature, the first metal wirings 42 is made as a layer of Ti/TiN/Ti,with s total thickness of about 400 nm. Then, the material is patternedinto a predetermined shape.

Next, a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) with a thickness of about 400 nm isdeposited thereon by PECVD using TEOS, and then the layer is etched backby reaction ion etching (RIE), except for the first metal wirings 42.Further, 500 nm thick silicon oxide (SiO₂) is deposited thereon, whichis then flattened by CMP to become the interlayer insulating film 43.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10( a), the wafer is cut into apredetermined shape, and is subjected to washing and surface activationtogether with another insulating substrate 25 on which a silicon dioxide(SiO₂) with a thickness of about 100 nm is formed by a plasma CVD usingTEOS and oxygen gas. The washing and surface activation is performed bymegasonic shower of a mixture liquid (SC1 liquid). After cleaning andsurface activation, the wafer is closely brought into contact with theinsulating substrate 25 to be bonded thereto in accordance with themarker (not shown) on the interlayer insulating film 43, as shown inFIG. 10( b). Here, the insulating substrate 25 is bonded because of theinsulating film 1, Van der Waals force or hydrogen bond. Note that, inFIG. 10( b), the insulating substrate 25 has the same size as thesemiconductor substrate 40, but it is actually a large glass substratewhose area is larger than the total area of the large number ofsemiconductor substrates 10. Note that, in the present embodiment, theinsulating substrate 25 is made of a glass, for example, “code 1737”, aproduct of Corning (alkali-earth alumino-boro-sillicated glass).

Next, the combined body is subjected to annealing at about 250° C. fortwo hours to ensure the bonding. Thereafter, through heat treatment atabout 600° C. for three minutes, the body is cleaved at the ionimplantation layer (peak position of ion implantation) 9 so as toseparate the singlecrystalline Si wafer 8, as shown in FIG. 10( c).

Next, as shown in FIG. 10( d), a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) with a thicknessof about 100 nm is deposited on the divided surface by plasma CVD, andis etched back by reaction ion etching (RIE). At this stage, first,mixture gas of carbon-fluorine (CF₄) and hydrogen is used. After etchingis done for about 100 nm, the mixture gas is replaced with anothermixture gas of carbon-fluorine (CF₄) and oxygen, and the reaction ionetching is continued. The etching is stopped when the singlecrystallineSi wafer 8 is all removed from the LOCOS oxide film 7 as the filed oxidefilm. Here, as it is difficult to monitor the termination of etching,the etching is stopped after a certain time elapsed, which time wasdecided in advance based on the etching rate.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10( e), the surface is lightly etched withbuffer hydrogen fluoride (HF), and the substrate is heated to 380° C.Then a silicon dioxide (SiO2) of about 400 nm is deposited by PECVDusing TEOS to form a protective-insulating-interlayer film 21.

Next, the contact holes 41 are created on theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21, and a material for metalwiring is deposited therein to form the second metal wiring 45. Thisembodiment uses Ti/TiN/Al—Si/TiN/Ti, whose total thickness is about 400nm. Then, the material is patterned into a predetermined shape.Consequently, as shown in FIG. 8, a semiconductor device 50 including asinglecrystalline Si semiconductor device is formed on the insulatingsubstrate 25.

Note that, in the semiconductor device 50, the first metal wiring 42 isdirectly connected to the second metal wiring 45; however, the metalwiring 45 may be arranged differently, for example, it may be connectedto the metal wiring layer 42 via a relay electrode made of a gate layer2 a. In this case, the contact hole for connecting the second metalwiring 45 to the relay electrode of gate 2 a can be made shallow, andthe yield is increased. More specifically, the first metal wiring 42 isconnected to the relay electrode made of a gate 2 a, while its rearsurface is connected to the second wiring 45.

Specifically, as shown in the figure, the semiconductor substrate 40according to the present embodiment includes an insulating substrate 25and a singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element formed on theinsulating substrate 25.

The singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element includes a gate electrode2 formed above the insulating substrate 25; a gate insulating film 3formed on the gate electrode 2; an active layer 6; and a LOCOS oxidefilm 7 formed around the active layer 6; and aprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21 over the active layer 6 and theLOCOS oxide film 7. The active layer 6 includes a channel region 17, andsource/drain regions 4 and 5. The singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement further includes; an interlayer insulating film 43, which is aninsulating film formed between the insulating substrate 25 and the gateelectrode 2; at least one first metal wiring 42 formed on the uppersurface of the interlayer insulating film 43; and a second metal wiring45, formed on the protective-insulating-interlayer film 21, beingconnected to the first metal wiring 42.

This method allows creation of the semiconductor device 50 including thesecond metal wiring 45. Further, by combining the semiconductorsubstrate 40 with the insulating substrate 25, the semiconductor device50 is created.

On forming the first metal wiring 42, it is generally required to form aplurality of wiring layers for efficient use of space, in order toincrease the integration density of the IC. However, this results fromdifficulty in providing wiring pattern due to the small element region.

In view of this problem, the semiconductor substrate 40/semiconductordevice 50 according to the present embodiment includes at least onefirst metal wiring 42 formed beneath the planarization insulating film1; and a second metal wiring 45, formed on theprotective-insulating-interlayer film 21, being connected to the firstmetal wiring 42.

On this account, it is possible to use space on the rear side of thedevice area, allowing efficient leading of wiring, thereby increasingintegration density.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate 40 of the present embodiment, atleast one first metal wiring 42 is formed on the planarizationinsulating film 1, and this metal wiring can be used as an externalleading electrode of the source/drain regions 4/5. Note that, in FIG. 9(g), the first metal wiring 42 is a single layer, however, it may beprovided as a plurality of layers.

Further, according to the semiconductor substrate 40 and thesemiconductor device 50 of the present embodiment and the fabricationmethods thereof, the first metal wiring 42 is made of a material whoseheat-resistant temperature (the lower one of (i) the melting point and(ii) the reaction temperature with Si) is about 500° C. or greater. Onthis account, the first metal wiring 42 is not fused during thefabrication.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments above, but maybe altered within the scope of the claims. An embodiment based on aproper combination of technical means disclosed in different embodimentsis encompassed in the technical scope of the present invention.

As described, in the semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor device,and the fabrication methods of those according to the presentembodiment, there is provided an active layer having a channel region, asource region, and a drain region; and the singlecrystalline Sisubstrate includes at least a part of a device structure not containinga well-structure or a channel stop region. With this arrangement using asinglecrystalline Si, the resulting semiconductor device is superior inperformance and less varied in characteristic.

Further, in the present embodiment not providing a conventional well, achannel stop, or a well-contact, the area of the device area is reduced,allowing more dense integration, thereby realizing a highly-densesemiconductor substrate. Further, since the conventional well isomitted, the resistor may be made thinner than the conventionalstructure using a well. Thus, the semiconductor element can be made as athin film which can coexist with the TFTs formed from otherpolycrystalline Si upon formation of the semiconductor device, allowingconduction between the semiconductor element and TFTs through commonthin film wiring Further, since the element can be isolated by etchingback the Si thin film, which is created as a result of the cleavage, itis possible to ensure the device isolation of the minutesinglecrystalline Si device even on the insulating substrate 25, such asa large glass substrate, without highly-accurate photolithography.Further, since the well is omitted, the fabrication process issimplified.

Further, in the present embodiment, the LOCOS oxide film, thicker thanthe gate insulating film, is formed by surrounding the active layer.This LOCOS oxide film securely ensures the device isolation.

On this account, on fabricating the semiconductor device having ahigh-performance integration system by forming the non-singlecrystallineSi semiconductor element and the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the large insulating substrate, the process for making thesinglecrystalline Si is simplified. Further, the foregoing arrangementprovides a semiconductor substrate and a fabrication method thereof,which ensures device isolation of the minute singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element without highly-accurate photolithography, when thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element is transferred onto the largeinsulating substrate.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate of the present invention, thesource and drain regions of the active layer form a LDD structure.

Therefore, the change in density distribution of impurities in thevicinity of the drain becomes less rapid, and the electric fieldstrength in the vicinity of the drain region is reduced, therebyimproving reliability.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate of the present invention, thesurface of the insulating film is highly flat by CMP.

On this account, the insulating substrate 25, which is realized by aflat glass substrate or the like, may be bonded to the planarizationinsulating film 1.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate of the present invention, atleast one wiring layer is formed on the insulating film.

This wiring enables conduction with other circuits, power supply etc.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate of the present invention, theLOCOS oxide film has a thickness of not less than 30 nm and not morethan 200 nm.

In the present invention, in contrast to a conventional MOSLSI (LargeScale Integrated Circuit) using an oxide film whose thickness isapproximately 500 nm (at least 300 nm) or greater, the LOCOS film, whichis to be grown to a field region, has a ½ or 1/10 thickness, i.e.,approximately 30 nm to 200 nm.

This structure achieves great reduction in time for oxidization, besidesthe oxidization can be carried out not in a wet method but in a drymethod at a practically satisfactory level. Particularly, since thestress due to oxidization in the edge of the oxide film is greatlyreduced, the characteristics of the transistor become stable. Further,the thin oxide film helps reduction of Bird's Beak, thus providing aminute device area in the transistor with high accuracy.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate of the present invention, an ionimplantation layer is formed in the singlecrystalline Si substrate witha predetermined depth through implantation of one or plural kinds of ionselected from a hydrogen ion group or an inactive element ion group. Thepredetermined depth is decided according to the desired thickness of thesinglecrystalline Si substrate.

With this arrangement, the wafer is cleaved at the ion implantationlayer 9 by heat treatment. This structure allows transfer of a thin filmdevice, which can coexist with a non-singlecrystalline Si, onto a largeinsulating substrate or the like.

Further, in the semiconductor substrate of the present invention, theion implantation layer formed in the singlecrystalline Si substrate witha predetermined depth is formed in a portion lower than the LOCOS oxidefilm. On this account, by etching back the surface of thesinglecrystalline Si thin film, which became a thin film by cleavage, tothe implantation surface of the LOCOS oxide film, the device isolationis ensured. With this arrangement, the leak current is reduced in theresulting device.

Further, in the fabrication method of a semiconductor substrateaccording to the present invention, the LOCOS oxide film is formed bydry oxidization.

Therefore, it is possible to greatly reduce the stress upon oxidizationof ends of the oxide film, thereby obtaining a transistor with stablecharacteristics.

Further, in the semiconductor device according to the present invention,an upper surface of the active layer is lower than an upper surface ofthe LOCOS oxide film.

In this arrangement, by etching back the surface of thesinglecrystalline Si thin film, which became a thin film by cleavage, tobe lower than the upper surface of the LOCOS oxide film, it is possibleto form elements which are separated each other. With this arrangement,the leak current is reduced in the resulting device.

Further, in the semiconductor device according to the present invention,both edges of the active layer lie along inclinations of edges of theLOCOS oxide film.

With this configuration, device isolation is ensured in the structure,thereby reducing leak current due to defective edge of Si island andstress in the conventional island etching.

Further, in the semiconductor device according to the present invention,the first wiring layer is made of a material whose heat-resistanttemperature is about 500° C. or greater, the heat-resistant temperaturebeing a lower one of (i) a melting point and (ii) a reaction temperaturewith Si.

On this account, the first wiring layer is not fused in the fabrication.

Further, in the semiconductor device according to the present invention,the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element is formed in one portionof the insulating substrate, and a non-singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element is formed on another portion of the insulatingsubstrate.

This arrangement allows coexistence of a singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element and a non-singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement on the insulating substrate.

Further, a semiconductor device according to the present invention isarranged so that a part of the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement constitutes a transistor which controls display of a pixelconstituting a display section, and the transistor constituted of thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element constitutes either a displaydrive circuit for driving the display section, and/or a processingcircuit for outputting a predetermined signal to the display drivecircuit, the transistor being monolithically formed on a substrateconstituting the display section; further, the transistor is also usedas a circuit for constituting the display device.

In the conventional liquid crystal display device or the otherconventional displays, switching transistors for the pixels are formedof non-singlecrystalline Si semiconductor elements on the insulatingsubstrate of glass or the like. Then, after the wiring pattern for thetransistors are formed, the display drive circuit for driving thedisplay section and/or the processing circuit for outputtingpredetermined signals to the display drive circuit is provided in thefrom of COG or COF realized by the singlecrystalline Si semiconductorelement, and the circuit is then connected to the wiring pattern,otherwise, the display drive circuit and/or the processing circuit isexternally provided from a print board or the like.

However, in the present embodiment, at least a part of thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element constitutes the switchingtransistor which controls display of each pixel constituting a displaysection, and the transistor constituted of the singlecrystalline Sisemiconductor element constitutes either a display drive circuit fordriving the display section, or a processing circuit for outputting apredetermined signal to the display drive circuit.

On this account, after the part or the whole of thenon-singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element and the part of thesinglecrystalline Si semiconductor element are formed on the insulatingsubstrate, their conduction is made by a common wiring layer. On thisaccount, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device which realizesa high-quality display device with high productivity.

Further, in the fabrication method of a semiconductor device accordingto the present invention, before the step (a), surfaces of thesemiconductor substrate and the insulating substrate are activatedthrough either washing by cleaning water containing a hydrogen peroxidesolution, or by exposure under oxygen-plasma atmosphere.

As a result, the semiconductor substrate and the insulating substrateare bonded by Van der Waals, hydrogen bond or other kinds of coupling,without an adhesive.

Further, in the fabrication method of a semiconductor device accordingto the present invention, the heat treatment in the singlecrystalline Sisubstrate removal process is carried out at a temperature rangingapproximately from 250° C. to 600° C.

In this method, the singlecrystalline Si semiconductor element is heatedto, for example, a temperature at which the hydrogen ion is separatedfrom the Si, thus securing the bonding strength between thesemiconductor substrate and the insulating substrate; further, the heatcauses the wafer body to be cleaved at the ion implantation layer,detaching a part of the singlecrystalline Si substrate.

The embodiments and concrete examples of implementation discussed in theforegoing detailed explanation serve solely to illustrate the technicaldetails of the present invention, which should not be narrowlyinterpreted within the limits of such embodiments and concrete examplesbut rather may be applied in many variations within the spirit of thepresent invention, provided such variations do not exceed the scope ofthe patent claims set forth below.

1. A fabrication method of a semiconductor substrate, comprising thesteps of: (i) forming a LOCOS oxide film outside a device area of asinglecrystalline Si substrate; (ii) forming a gate insulating film inthe device area of the singlecrystalline Si substrate; (iii) selectivelyimplanting impurity into the device area of the singlecrystalline Sisubstrate so as to form a source region, a drain region and a channelregion which together constitute an active layer; (iv) forming aninsulating film with a flat upper surface over the gate electrode, thegate insulating film, and the LOCOS oxide film; and (v) implantingthrough the insulating film one or plural kinds of ion selected from ahydrogen ion group or an inactive element ion group so as to form an ionimplantation layer with a predetermined depth in the singlecrystallineSi substrate.
 2. A fabrication method of a semiconductor substrate,comprising the steps of: (i) forming a LOCOS oxide film outside a devicearea of a singlecrystalline Si substrate; (ii) forming a gate insulatingfilm in the device area of the singlecrystalline Si substrate; (iii)selectively implanting impurity into the device area of thesinglecrystalline Si substrate so as to form a source region, a drainregion and a channel region which together constitute an active layer;(iv) forming a first insulating film with a flat upper surface over thegate electrode, the gate insulating film, and the LOCOS oxide film; (v)implanting through the first insulating film one or plural kinds of ionselected from a hydrogen ion group or an inactive element ion group soas to form an ion implantation layer with a predetermined depth in thesinglecrystalline Si substrate; (vi) forming at least one first wiringlayer above the first insulating film; and (vii) forming a secondinsulating film on the first wiring layer.
 3. The fabrication method ofa semiconductor substrate as set forth in claim 1, wherein: the LOCOSoxide film is formed by dry oxidization.
 4. A fabrication method of asemiconductor device, comprising the steps of: (a) bonding asemiconductor substrate onto an insulating substrate, the semiconductorsubstrate being fabricated based on a fabrication method of asemiconductor substrate, comprising the steps of: (i) forming a LOCOSoxide film outside a device area of a singlecrystalline Si substrate;(ii) forming a gate insulating film in the device area of thesinglecrystalline Si substrate; (iii) selectively implanting impurityinto the device area of the singlecrystalline Si substrate so as to forma source region, a drain region and a channel region which togetherconstitute an active layer; (iv) forming an insulating film with a flatupper surface over the gate electrode, the gate insulating film, and theLOCOS oxide film; and (v) implanting through the insulating film one orplural kinds of ion selected from a hydrogen ion group or an inactiveelement ion group so as to form an ion implantation layer with apredetermined depth in the singlecrystalline Si substrate, thefabrication method of a semiconductor device further comprising thesteps of: (b) dividing the singlecrystalline Si substrate at the ionimplantation layer by heat treatment so as to detach a part of thesinglecrystalline Si substrate; (c) etching a part of singlecrystallineSi on the insulating substrate so as to expose a surface of the LOCOSoxide film; (d) forming an interlayer insulating film over the activelayer and the LOCOS oxide film; and (e) forming a wiring layer on theinterlayer insulating film, and connecting the wiring layer to thesource and drain regions via through holes, which is formed in theinterlayer insulating film.
 5. A fabrication method of a semiconductordevice, comprising the steps of: (a) bonding a semiconductor substrateonto an insulating substrate, the semiconductor substrate beingfabricated based on a fabrication method of a semiconductor substrate,comprising the steps of: (i) forming a LOCOS oxide film outside a devicearea of a singlecrystalline Si substrate; (ii) forming a gate insulatingfilm in the device area of the singlecrystalline Si substrate; (iii)selectively implanting impurity into the device area of thesinglecrystalline Si substrate so as to form a source region, a drainregion and a channel region which together constitute an active layer;(iv) forming a first insulating film with a flat upper surface over thegate electrode, the gate insulating film, and the LOCOS oxide film; (v)implanting through the first insulating film one or plural kinds of ionselected from a hydrogen ion group or an inactive element ion group soas to form an ion implantation layer with a predetermined depth in thesinglecrystalline Si substrate; (vi) forming at least one first wiringlayer above the first insulating film; and (vii) forming a secondinsulating film on the first wiring layer, the fabrication method of asemiconductor device further comprising the steps of: (b) dividing thesinglecrystalline Si substrate at the ion implantation layer by heattreatment so as to detach a part of the singlecrystalline Si substrate;(c) etching a part of singlecrystalline Si on the insulating substrateso as to expose a surface of the LOCOS oxide film; (d) forming aninterlayer insulating film over the active layer and the LOCOS oxidefilm; and (e) forming a second wiring layer on the interlayer insulatingfilm, and connecting the second wiring layer to the first wiring layer.6. The fabrication method of a semiconductor device as set forth inclaim 4, wherein: before the step (a), surfaces of the semiconductorsubstrate and the insulating substrate are activated through eitherwashing by cleaning water containing a hydrogen peroxide solution, or byexposure under oxygen-plasma atmosphere.
 7. The fabrication method of asemiconductor device as set forth in claim 5, wherein: before the step(a), surfaces of the semiconductor substrate and the insulatingsubstrate are activated through either washing by cleaning watercontaining a hydrogen peroxide solution, or by exposure underoxygen-plasma atmosphere.
 8. The fabrication method of a semiconductordevice as set forth in claim 4, wherein: in the step (b), the heattreatment is carried out at a temperature ranging approximately from250° C. to 600° C.
 9. The fabrication method of a semiconductor deviceas set forth in claim 5, wherein: in the step (b), the heat treatment iscarried out at a temperature ranging approximately from 250° C. to 600°C.